Denver has admitted its police department violated protesters’ civil rights during the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020.
The admission followed Denver's loss of an April appeal in a $14.75 million civil rights case regarding police conduct during those same protests.
The complaint, filed in 2022, names 13 plaintiffs and makes sweeping accusations about police conduct during the protests:
- Denver police knowingly targeted journalists and others recording the Denver Police Department’s violent behavior.
- The department also used an “overwhelming use of force without any reasonable basis” against thousands of people.
- Officers intentionally shot people in the head.
- The 13 plaintiffs were “brutalized for their political expression.”
The complaint includes graphic photos of the plaintiffs’ bloodied and swollen eyes, gaping wounds, and tear gas-drenched faces.
In a court document filed May 5, the city stated it was liable in the case Dominick v. The City and County of Denver, as Fox31 first reported.
The city stated its goal in admitting liability is to save time and resources. The jury will no longer need to decide if the city was liable. Instead, it will determine the extent of the plaintiffs' injuries and the damages the city must pay.
“Plaintiffs do not oppose this motion,” the court document states. “And for good reason. Denver’s admission of liability guarantees they will prevail at trial.”
The trial is scheduled to begin on Monday.
